The Subaru Brat, a quirky all-wheel-drive vehicle sold from 1978 to 1987 in the U.S., featured an unusual design choice: two rear-facing plastic seats welded into its cargo bed. This wasn’t just for fun—it was a clever workaround to evade the “Chicken Tax,” a 25% tariff imposed on imported light trucks in 1963 as a retaliation to European taxes on U.S. poultry. By adding these seats, Subaru could classify the Brat as a passenger car, which faced only a 2.5% tariff. This significantly lowered import costs, making the Brat more competitive in the American market against domestic trucks and other imports like Toyota and Nissan. The seats, complete with seatbelts, stayed until 1985, after which safety concerns and lawsuits led to their removal. For 1987, the final U.S. model year, the Brat rolled out sans seats.
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